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Elverlingsen: Coal-fired power station becomes battery storage plant

June 22, 2018

The joint venture between Daimler with its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy, GETEC ENERGIE and The Mobility House is putting two more large-scale energy storage plants made up of battery modules from electric cars into operation.

The previously built 1st and 2nd-life battery storage projects in Lünen are now supplemented by a new 2nd-life storage and a “store for replacement parts” in Elverlingsen.

The are 1,920 battery modules for the third-generation electric smart in the “replacement parts store”. While being stored, their aggregate power output of 9 MW and energy of 9.8 MWh is available for primary balancing power and other uses.

Together all the battery storage plants in the pool provide primary control energy with a capacity of 29 MW (31 MWh of energy).

The two 2nd-life battery storage plants have an installed capacity of 20 MW (21 MWh) and are made up of a total of 1,878 vehicle battery modules. They represent the largest 2nd-life battery storage plants in operation today and were built without public funding.

Efficient dual usage of the battery systems improves the life cycle costs of e-mobility.

Elverlingsen/Kamenz – Daimler and its cooperation partners The Mobility House, GETEC ENERGIE and the Daimler-subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy, have put another innovative battery storage plant into operation. A total of 1,920 battery modules are bundled in a plant in Elverlingsen in South Westphalia to create a “replacement parts store” for the fleet of third generation electric Smarts. With an installed power output of 8.96 MW and energy capacity of 9.8 MWh, the battery storage plant is available to the energy market, for example for supplying primary balancing power. Its modular design enables the system to continuously and autonomously stabilise the power grid with balancing power.

The close cooperation beween Daimler, The Mobility House and GETEC ENERGIE enabled this third large storage plant consisting of vehicle batteries to be connected to the grid. Since 2016, a 1st and a 2nd-life battery storage with a total energy of 13 MWh are already in use at the site in Lünen. There, more than 1,000 used batteries from electric vehicles help balance power fluctuations and stabilize the grid. This prolongs the life cycle of the battery, which contributes to a significant improvement in the economic and environmental benefits of electric vehicles.

Added value at the beginning of the battery life

The new battery storage plant in Elverlingsen adds value at the beginning of the vehicle battery life cycle: the “replacement parts store” makes use of new battery systems that could serve as replacements in smart electric drive vehicles. To be usable as a replacement, a battery needs regular cycling while being stored – deliberate, battery-conserving charging and discharging. This prevents exhaustive discharge which can lead to battery defect.

Shining example of the energy transition

The “replacement parts store” made up of electric car battery systems was constructed in Elverlingsen on the site of the former coal-fired power station that was built in 1912 and recently shut down. The large storage plant is therefore a symbol for the transition in the storage and use of energy – away from electricity generated from fossil fuels towards a sustainable extension of the e-mobility value chain that reduces CO2. With the replacement part storage concept The Mobility House AG, GETEC ENERGIE AG and Daimler with its subsidiaries Accumotive and Mercedes-Benz Energy are creating a new kind of win-win situation and supporting the progress of the energy transition.

Milestone on the path towards a future without emissions

For The Mobility House, the opening of the battery storage system is an important step in the development of its innovative technologies to enable communication between vehicle batteries and the power grid. “In Lünen we have proven that batteries of electric vehicles can serve as decentralized storage for renewable energies. As such, they can be used commercially for grid stabilization. With Elverlingsen, we’re taking our technology a step further: commercializing new batteries while preventing them from aging and performance loss,” said Thomas Raffeiner, founder and CEO of The Mobility House. The company is already supplying grid services with more than 2,000 vehicle batteries, thereby making an important contribution to researching the full potential of battery storage systems. For its innovative technology, The Mobility House recently won the “Top Business Model” award by pv magazine.